IB mission statement

The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquisitive, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. 

To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment. 

These programmes encourage students across the world to become active and compassionate lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right. 

Wickham kindergarten mission statement

We are committed to creating a multicultural community that encourages children to explore through curiosity and innovation, producing international lifelong learners. 

Philosophy

At Wickham kindergarten, assessment is recognized as an indispensable part of teaching and learning. The purpose of assessment is to inform learning and teaching. It involves the gathering and analysis of information about student learning to inform teaching practice. 

Assessment can reflect the knowledge, understanding, ability and feelings of learners at different stages of the learning process. As part of the development of critical thinking and self-assessment skills, students should actively participate in assessing the progress of their peers and themselves. We believe that the entire learner community should be involved in various forms of assessment, which allows all members to understand the learning goals the students are working towards, and the progress the students are making. We believe that assessment on the process of the inquiry is as important as the assessment on the result of the inquiry, and try to combine the two into a whole to give the same support. We believe that a variety of assessments can enable teachers to understand the needs of students in order tomake their teaching more effective.

 Assessment objectives

50. The assessment provides evidence of student learning and growth, and enables teachers, parents and schools to keep track of students' progress and learning.

50. Assessment provides feedback about the learning process and is an integral part of all teaching and learning.

50. It provides important information for teachers' effective lesson planning, and guides the teaching practice.

50. Assessment helps students to reflect on their own progress. It also sets goals for learning, and is a manifestation of learners' active participation in the learning process.

50. Through assessment, learning progress can be measured, students' understanding of learning content can be checked, and guidance can be provided for teachers to guide students, so as to formulate corresponding guidance strategies.

50. Through assessment, parents can see evidence of the children learning and development, as well as supporting and celebrating their child's learning.

Types of Assessment

The assessment of PYP is carried out continuously during the implementation of the unit of inquiry. It is completed jointly by teachers, students, parents and other relevant personnel involved in the implementation of the inquiry project.

1.Pre-assessment：

Pre-assessment takes place at the beginning of the unit of inquiry to discover students' prior knowledge and guide their further study. 

Some examples of pre-assessment include, but are not limited to：

50. Class discussions

50. Questionnaires

50. Brainstorming 

50. Checklists

50. Role plays

50. KWL charts

50. Situational games

2.Formative assessment：

Formative assessments provide teachers and students with information about how learning develops, and formative assessments are conducted at different intervals throughout the unit: both formal and informal. Formative assessment helps students to: expand their knowledge, improve their understanding, enhance their enthusiasm for learning and actively reflect on themselves, improve their self-assessment ability, and recognize the criteria for success. 

Examples of formative assessment include but are not limited to：

50. Teachers’ observation

50. Teacher-student conferences

50. Oral questions 

50. Self-assessment

50. Peer assessment

50. Anecdotal records

50. Evaluation checklists

50. Mind mapping

50. Learning portfolios

50. Show and tell

3.Summative assessment：

It aims to give teachers and students a clear insight into students' understanding. Summative assessment is the culmination of the teaching and learning process, and gives the students opportunities to demonstrate what has been learned. It can assess several elements simultaneously, by informing and improving student learning and the teaching process, measuring understanding of the central idea, and prompting students towards action.

Examples of summative assessment include but are not limited to：

50. Presentations

50. Questionnaires

50. Surveys

50. Interviews 

50. Oral questions

50. Exhibitions

50. Students-made projects and/or models

50. Role plays

50. Quiz game

50. Carry out public benefit activities related to the theme

五、Assessment strategies and tools

In Wickham kindergarten, we use the following assessment strategies and tools to record student progress.

（一）Assessment strategies

•Observation and comments: teachers observe students regularly and record their personal, group and class growth and progress.

•Overall performance assessment: students apply what they learn by performing real tasks with multiple solutions.

•Process-focused assessment: teachers observe each student's mastery of a specific skill or other specific goal.

•Selected tests: these tests assess a student's understanding of a particular topic or theme.

•Open-ended tasks: students are asked to fill out or convey original responses. This can be a painting, written response, chart or solution.

（二） Assessment tools

• Assessment rubrics: a set of established assessment criteria for grading students in all areas of study. •The detailed assessment criteria tell the evaluator which features or traces in the student's work should be paid attention to, and how to determine the performance level of the work according to the predetermined assessment scale. Assessment rubrics can be developed by students or teachers.

•Samples of students works: a selected sample of work can be used as a standard for judging other works. 

• Checklist: lists information, data, quality or factors that should be presented.

• Anecdotal record: a short-written record based on observations of students.

六、Assessment Results Report

（一）Written Report：

At the end of each semester, teachers from each class and each subject will work together to evaluate each student's performance in the following areas: Transdisciplinary inquiry, Chinese, mathematics, English (as a second language), visual arts, music, physical education, and other courses. Teachers will write written reports and comments for each student.

（二）Conferences：

1. Parent-teacher Conference: at the beginning of each semester every class will organize a Parent-teacher Conference to report to parents the units of inquiry, important parent-teacher activities, and class activities to be carried out in this semester.

2. School Open Day: Open Day activities for parents will be twice a semester to report to parents on the inquiry activities that carried out by the class. Parents observe students' activities in school, such as: inquiry, learning, life and games. Here parents can evaluate and celebrate students' progress together with teachers.

3. Three-way conference: a three-way conference will be held at the end of the semester, and the conference will be led by students. The main contents of the conference include but are not limited to: display the inquiry results, discuss the learner profiles of students that developed in this semester, set goals for the next semester, and so on.

4. Teacher-parent communication: the communication between teachers and parents is ongoing, including formal communication and informal communication. Both teachers and parents can be the initiators of a meeting, and both parties need to have an appointment for the time of a meeting in advance.

（三）Learner portfolio

The Learning portfolio is the collection and reflection of students' inquiry learning and works, which can reflect students' growth and provides a platform for students to track their learning process and show clearly their growth as learners. The learning portfolio includes personal reflection, student-led meetings, parent-teacher meetings, teacher reflection, and other relevant data.

The learning portfolio is presented in a variety of ways according to the age characteristics of students (paintings, works, charts, photos, language records, etc.). Students and teachers select content to put into the learning portfolio. The collected works should reflect the growth of a student as a learner, and the items selected to be placed in the learning portfolio should be accompanied by instructions.

The learning portfolio is placed in the public area of the class for students, for teachers and parents to go through whenever they need.

七、Review & Revise Assessment Policies

This assessment policy is developed by the principal of Wickham kindergarten, PYP coordinator, and grade coordinators. This policy is still under continuous improvement and will be reviewed and updated every year.

 

 

 

References：

• •  Making the PYP happen: A curriculum framework for international primary education

  • Online Resources